Inclusive Education Wins

The district where I used to teach just flipped from a majority-conservative school board, and I couldn’t be more proud. Some of you may not know this, but I was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools for eight years. During that time, I won Teacher of the Year at my school twice. I loved teaching, and I was good at it.

I was the teacher who put food in children’s backpacks when they needed it. I was the one students came back to year after year when they needed a pick-me-up. I maintained close relationships with families and called home to share good news, not just negatives about their children. I helped students learn accurate history and see themselves reflected in books.

When Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler joined the school board, I was vocal about the harm she caused. When a DEI training was canceled, I shouted from the rooftops that the decision was rooted in white supremacy. I warned people about book bans before they even began. When we moved away from Sarasota, I remained active in the community. I donated books to the local Black Lives Matter chapter and LGBTQIA+ youth centers to ensure children had access to books that made them feel seen, especially since schools were under attack.

Bridget Ziegler spent years harming Sarasota students with her anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and policies while secretly having threesomes with other women and her husband. She supported multiple policies attacking queer youth and other marginalized communities. To see a day where people who believe in educating all children are finally elected to the school board gives me hope—and hope is exactly what we need right now.

This is also a reminder that school board elections matter. School board members choose curriculum. They handpick what your children learn at school, which ultimately shapes our future. Let’s make sure we get out there and vote.